Brendan Gallagher: Good luck Conor O’Shea in saving Italy!

The great Sergio Parisse, and I use the word in its truest sense, was visibly outraged last week when the vultures...

I can keep London Irish up says Greig Tonks

London Irish fly-half Greig Tonks insists he has no regrets over swapping his Edinburgh comfort zone for a mud and bullets...

Room 101: Dave Ward – Harlequins hooker

1. Cinema prices I used to go to the cinema a lot but not anymore because of the cost. It’s hardly...

Peter Jackson column: Ravaged All Blacks offer hope to Wales

The striking similarities between Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder extend beyond the fact that each has scored eight tries in his...

Shane Williams column: Wales must believe they can upset the All Blacks

Flexing your muscles on the beach is one thing – doing it in the ring is quite another. I’m sure the...

London Irish announce five signings

London Irish have bolstered their second row options for next season with the signing of Sebastian de Chaves from Leicester Tigers...

Sale sign USA fly-half MacGinty

Sale Sharks have secured the signing of USA International fly-half AJ MacGinty. The 26-years-old, who will join from Connacht, is a...

James Haskell defends quality of Six Nations

James Haskell has hit back at critics who accused this year’s Six Nations of being dull, unexciting and lacking in quality....

European dates announced for 2016/17

With the knockout stages of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup approaching, EPCR has announced the key dates for the 2016/17....

Jeremy Guscott column: Stuart Hogg’s a worthy winner but Sarries pair push him close

George Kruis did not get onto the shortlist for the Six Nations Player of the Year, but along with the  runner-up,...

Jeff Probyn column: Treating players like men helped win Grand Slam

Reflecting on last week’s Grand Slam I can’t help thinking how much the team has changed from the latter days of...

Nick Cain talks to Eddie Jones about the way ahead for his Grand Slam team

Eddie Jones clearly believes in the saying that “success starts on Monday”.  No sooner had the England head coach returned from...

VIDEO: Bryan Habana opens up about Olympic Sevens dream

Talking to CNN World Rugby, South Africa‘s record try scorer Bryan Habana talks about his Olympic prospects with the Sevens side and...

Sale confirm Josh Charnely switch

As revealed by Neil Fissler in The Rugby Paper on March 13, Sale Sharks have secured the services of England rugby...

Beers and banter got us to Grand Slam says Mako Vunipola

Mako Vunipola has revealed why being handed personal responsibility by new boss Eddie Jones helped England‘s players achieve a first Six...

Leigh Halfpenny still caught in Toulon or Wales row

Leigh Halfpenny is to make his come-back next Saturday with Toulon refusing to release him for Wales’ tour of New Zealand....

Ol’ King Dan Cole eyes Wallaby redemption

NICK VERDIER meets the England tighthead on a mission to right the World Cup wrong Down Under this summer.

Injury blow for Liam Williams

Liam Williams has suffered another injury blow and will be unavailable for the region for up to six weeks. The Wales...

Date set for Joe Marler’s World Rugby hearing

Joe Marler will face a World Rugby misconduct hearing on April 5 for calling Wales‘ Samson Lee “Gypsy boy”. The England...

Young Gun: Max Green – England U20s scrum-half

Max Green has had a stellar start to 2016 and he can now call himself a professional rugby player after signing...

Nick Cain picks his Lions team based on their Six Nations form

It may still be some 14 months before the British & Irish Lions leave these shores to take on the formidable...

Jeff Probyn column: Onfield revival is just one of many battles facing England

What a week for English rugby! Congratulations to Eddie Jones and his coaching team for completing England‘s first Six Nations title...

Team GB Sevens has been failed by authorities says Mike Friday

Mike Friday has blasted the Home Unions, Premiership Rugby and Pro 12 officials for allowing politics and egos to ruin Team...

Room 101: Matt Riley – Sedgley Park back

1. Smoking I’ve never smoked unless you count the odd celebratory cigar when I was younger. The smell of cigarettes makes...

Have Calders got answer for England’s twin peaks?

Brendan Gallagher says  the Curry brothers may be chasing one international place but that precedent has been set by a pair...

Peter Jackson column: Glen Webbe shows laughter is still the best medicine

Glen Webbe was the first black British player to appear in the World Cup and the first of any colour to...

Nick Cain column: Lay off Joe Marler, PC brigade – boys will be boys!

When did the word gipsy, which has been used to describe Romany people in Britain for centuries, become non-permissible? To my...

Brendan Gallagher’s Six Nations review

Round One: Parisse’s moment of madness What so soon? My jacket pockets were still stuffed with World Cup ticket stubs and...

Johnny Leota and Logovi’i Mulipola handed bans

Johnny Leota and Logovi’i Mulipola will miss the clash between Sale and Leicester on Sunday because of disciplinary bans. Sharks centre...

World Rugby statement – Joe Marler to face another misconduct hearing

World Rugby have confirmed that Joe Marler will face an independent hearing following his “Gipsy Boy” comment towards Samson Lee on...

Can rugby hope to take a bite of the Big Apple?

Matthew Emery reports on the experiment of taking  a Premiership match to the American market. George Best and Pele tried to crack the...

20 Questions: Rhys Crane – Ealing Trailfinders wing

Enjoyed the week off? It’s been good even if we’ve been training. But not having a game will allow us to...

New deal for Worcester’s Van Velze

Worcester Warriors have retained the services of No.8 GJ van Velze who signed a new contract with the club. The South...

Jeremy Guscott column: Straight-talking Eddie Jones has flicked the right switch

Eddie Jones has used his personality as an asset everywhere he’s gone, and it’s been the same since he took over...

Peter Jackson: Phew, a Grand Slam at last and not yet another grand shambles

And so ‘Fast Eddie’ has lived up to his name. A Six Nations Grand Slam at the first attempt made all...

Shane Williams: It was great to see George North equal my try-scoring record

That’s more like it. After the nightmare of Twickenham it was great to see Wales putting that performance to bed with...

Charles Piutau has no regrets at losing World Cup chance

His move to Europe cost him a World Cup winners medal but Charles Piutau reckons he is a better player for...

My Life in Rugby: Steve Gustard – former Gosforth winger

When I joined Gosforth from Blaydon in 1971, there weren’t any great stars in the squad. Yes, future England scrum-half Mal...

Underdogs Cranleigh see off rugby’s school elite to win Rosslyn Park Sevens

Cranleigh turned giant slayers as they upset the odds to claim an historic Rosslyn Park Sevens title on Friday. Entering the...

James Johnston to stay at Worcester

James Johnston has extended his deal at Worcester Warriors into next season. The Samoan tighthead arrived at Sixways in January after...

Maro Itoje told to back up high octane introduction

England and Saracens scrum guru Ian Peel has challenged Maro Itoje to keep producing his high standards following his meteoric rise....

Newcastle Falcons sign Vereniki Goneva

Newcastle Falcons have added finishing power to their ranks for next season with the signing of Leicester Tigers’ Fijian international Vereniki...

Kruis and Itoje omitted for Six Nations gong

George Kruis and Maro Itoje have not been included in the 12-man shortlist for the Six Nations player of the tournament....

Dream Team: Evan Olmstead – London Scottish flanker

1. Scott Sio – I played with him back in Australia and he’s probably the best loosehead the Wallabies have right now....

Young Gun: Tom Galbraith – Scotland U20s centre

Scotland U20s have made a very good start to 2016 and centre Tom Galbraith wants them to push on and become...

Premiership round 17 teams

Bath v Newcastle Bath: Tom Homer; Semesa Rokoduguni, Matt Banahan, Kyle Eastmond, Jeff Williams; Ollie Devoto, Chris Cook; Max Lahiff, Rob...

Jeff Probyn column: Sorry, Serge but you were a bit-part player in that try

Browsing through a bookshop the other day, I picked up a copy of The Sunday Times Great Sporting Moments of the Twentieth...

Sean Fitzpatrick: Lions will have the talent to test All Blacks

Sean Fitzpatrick and Jason Robinson come from different sides of the rugby spectrum in every sense, but this week the indestructible...

Just call me Sir, says Olympic hopeful Sara Cox

Sara Cox has her sights firmly set on representing England at the Olympics as the RFU‘s first ever contracted referee. With...

London Irish captain pens new deal

London Irish captain George Skivington has signed a contract extension with the Club for next season. The 33-year-old has had limited...